The present invention relates to a tape recorder, and more particularly, to a traveling apparatus of a tape recorder wherein a tension pole for controlling the tension of a tape which travels toward a drum and an impedance roller for adjusting speed variation and eliminating noise due to vibration are integrally formed therein.
Generally, in video cassette recorders (VCRs), digital audio tapes (DATs), and camcorders, irregular tension, speed variation, and-noise caused by the vibration of a tape transferred toward a drum greatly affect the performance of products when recording a signal or playing the recorded signal on the tape. To control or eliminate these problems, several apparatuses are generally required.
As schematically illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2A, and 2B, the traveling system of a conventional tape recorder has a supply reel 12 mounted on a reel base 12 and take-up reel (not shown) for transferring a tape 11 on both sides of the upper portion of a deck 10. A drum 13 for recording a signal or playing the recorded signal on the tape 11 is mounted on the upper center of one side of the deck 10. Loading grooves 14 are formed in both lower sides around the drum 13. A guide roller 15 and a pole base 16 for loading and unloading the tape 11 transferred under the guidance of the loading groove 14 are connected to one end of a loading lever (not shown). The other end of the loading lever is connected to the supply reel 12 and take-up reel.
A tension band 17 having a felt 17a attached thereto is mounted on the outer circumference of the supply reel base, 12 to impose a predetermined braking load during the rotation of the supply reel 12. Both ends of the tension band 17 are respectively fixed to a connecting member 18a and a fixing member 18b of a tension arm 18. Tension arm 18 is spaced apart from the supply reel 12 by a predetermined distance (in FIG. 1, tension arm 18 is disposed to the left of supply reel 12). The tension arm 18 is installed on the upper portion of the deck 10 to be rotatable around a hinge 18c. One end of the tension arm 18 has a tension pole 19 for controlling tension of the tape 11. The other end of tension arm 18 has a spring 20 for elastically biasing the tension arm 18, thereby allowing the tension pole 19 to press the tape 11 in a predetermined direction. On the upper portion of the tension arm 18, an impedance roller 22, inserted with a fixing pin 21, is rotatably mounted on the upper portion of the deck 10. Washers 23 are inserted on the upper and lower ends of the impedance roller 22 to prevent the impedance roller 22 from being separated from the fixing pin 21.
According to the traveling apparatus of the conventional tape recorder as constructed above, when power is supplied to load the tape 11 toward the drum 13, the tape 11 is transferred toward the drum 13. Simultaneously, the guide roller 15 and the pole base 16 contact the inner surface of the tape 11 along the loading groove 14. At the same time, the tension pole 19 contacts the inner surface of the tape 11. Also, the tension arm 18 is rotated around the hinge 18c (to the left, in FIG. 1) by means of the spring 20 connected to one end of the tension arm 18. Here, when the tension of the tape 11 is imposed upon the tension pole 19, the tension of the tape 11 is controlled by the mechanical balance between the spring 20 and the tension band 17 attached with the felt 17a on the outer circumference of the supply reel base 12'.
Here, the noise due to vibration and the speed variation are adjusted. The vibration noise generated from the tape-reel is eliminated by the impedance roller 22 rotatably inserted with the fixing pin 21 provided on the upper direction of the tension arm 18. The speed variation is adjusted either by weighting the impedance roller 22 or by enlarging the radius of the impedance roller 22.
However, in the above-described traveling apparatus of the tape recorder, since the tension-controlling apparatus and the impedance roller are respectively installed on the deck to control change of tension of the tape, adjust tape speed, and eliminate the noise due to vibration produced from the tape-reel, the number of components is increased and the quadrature with regard to the deck is difficult to be adjusted. Therefore, the manufacturing process is complicated, and especially, space on the deck is not easily secured, so that it becomes difficult to scale down the VCR and camcorder to be compact and light.